The Session on Urdu short stories was one of the finest the Karachi Literature Festival had to offer, for two reasons. One is, the well-moderated discussion actually revolved around literary debates rather than fundamentalism and politics with the panelists sticking to the assigned topic. And the other and second reason is that, the panel included some of the best known writers of the Urdu world namely Fehmida Riaz, Intezar Hussain and Hassan Manzar, with writer Asif Farrukhi, editor of the literary journal Dunyazad, and co-organizer of the festival, moderating.
The past and literature’s relation to a culture’s history was what Hussain focused of his discussion. He showed some trends which are used in Urdu story writing to the progressive writer’s movement and modernism.
Riaz said that many new writers had emerged in Aaj and Dunyazad. She mentioned Ali Akbar Natiq among others and lamented that people sidelined good writers and appreciated second-rate ones.
Hussain continued by pointing out that the feminist movement was one of the biggest movements in current literature. “Having passed through periods of great rebellion, the phase that we have entered… in that great meaning is being born in Urdu short story and verse,” he said.
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